Control and power operating means for vehicle mounted tool

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for raising and lowering an earthmoving blade of a bulldozer has a control housing supported for rotation about a horizontal axis and relative to the bulldozer and containing signal means and a gravity responsive actuator for operating the signal means to thereby control power means for moving the blade. A control lever operably connected to the housing varies the angular position thereof relative to the front-to-rear attitude of the bulldozer to effect manual control of blade position. A means is provided for releasably retaining the lever in preselected position whereby blade position is automatically altered in response to a change in said front-to-rear attitude.

United States Patent.

William L. Lewis Watertown, Conn.

[2 l] Appl. No. 715,457

[22 Filed Feb. 20, 1968 [45] Patented Jan. 12, 1971 [73] Assignees LeighA. Waters a part interest;

Nelson l-l. Waters Waterbury, Conn. a part interest [72] Inventor [5 4]CONTROL AND POWER OPERATING MEANS FOR VEHICLE MOUNTED TOOL 8 Claims, 10Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl... l72/4.5 [51] E02f3/85 [50] Field of Search l72/4.5;

94/AEC; 37/A.L. P.B

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,573,943 11/1951 Ziskal(37/P.B.) 2,583,250 l/l952 Ball (37/A.L.) 2,778,130 l/l957 Gurries etal. 172/45 2,804,883 9/1957 Curlett 9 l/446X 2,873,541 2/1959 Eliason172/4.5x

3,094,796 6/1953 Atchley 172/45 3,264,959 8/1966 Shea ..(172/4.5 ux))3,303,589 2/1967 Rivinius 172/45 3,343,288 9/1967 Fisher 172/45 FOREIGNPATENTS 654,084 12/1962 Canada 94/AEC Primary Examiner-Robert E. PulfreyAssistant Examiner-Alan E. Kopecki Attorney-McCormick, Paulding & HuberABSTRACT: An apparatus for raising and lowering an earthmoving blade ofa bulldozer has a control housing supported for rotation about ahorizontal axis and relative to the bulldozer and containing signalmeans and a gravity responsive actuator for operating the signal meansto thereby control power means for moving the blade. A control leveroperably connected to the housing varies the angular position thereofrelative to the front-to-rear attitude of the bulldozer to effect'manual control of blade position. A means is provided for releasablyretaining the lever in preselected position whereby blade position isautomatically altered in response to a change in said front-to-rearattitude.

PATENTEDJANI2I97I 3554.292

sum 1. UF 3 WILLIAM L. LEWIS MMW ATTORNEYS- PATENTEDJANRISYI I 8.554.292

' sumsnrs F/GZB- 1 CONTROL AND'POWER OPERATINGMEANS-FOR vEmcLE MOUNTEDTOOL,

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates in general to apparatusforcontrolling position of a vehicle mounted tool or the like, and dealsmore particularly with control and power-operating means for raising andlower a vehicle mounted tool such as the earthmoving blade of abulldozer.

tool control. The apparatus is relatively immune to vibrationencountered in the operation of the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIFTION OFDRAWINGS .FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of abulldozer equipped with the control and power-operating means of thepresent invention; v i

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the control and power-operatingmeans of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a somewhat schematic side view of a control lever formingapart of the control means; 7 1

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentaryvertical section through a lowerportion of the control lever; i

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top-view ofthe lower portion of the control lever;a

FIG. 6 is a frontview of part of the control meanswith a housing coverremoved for clarity ofillustration;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the control means of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary rear view of an actuator forming a part of thecontrol means,

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally asindicatedat9-9inFIG.6;and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of hydraulic lines, valves, etc. formingpartof the control and power-operatingmeans,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT lever 16 movable manuallyby an operator l8-for raising and lowering the blade. F urther,.-thebulldozer comprises a control mechanism indicated generally at 20 andwhich is connected withnthe control lever 16 at 22 and with apower-operating means, not shown, for the blade 14. The control lever16, the control mechanism 20, and the power-operating meansoperate inaccordance with the present invention "to raise and lower the blade 14under manual control of the operator 18 and; the said elements can alsobe adapted for automatic 7 operation wherein the operator l8merely-establishes a selected position of'the lever 16for'automatic'operation of the 20 are shown schematically in associationwith a poweroperating means 24 for'the blade 14.-The lever 16 is movablein one and an opposite. direction or, forwardly and rearwardly,

its lowermost portion and connected at an opposite end por- .tion withthe control mechanism 20. Thus, forward and rearward angular swingingmovement of the lever 16 is converted to generally linear reciprocablemovement of the cable 22.

At its lowermost portion, the lever 16 is provided with a housing 26supported on a suitable pedestal 28. The housing 26 may comprise twosimilar halves as best illustrated in FIG. 5 and carries pivot pin 30.The pivot pin 30 has a square central portion, best shown in FIG. 4,andcircular end portions which project through suitable openings in thesides of the housing 26. A radial opening 32 through the pivot pin 30receives a lowermost reduced diameter portion 34 of the lever 16. Thesaid portion 34 is rotatable within the opening 32 and is held againstaxial movement relative to said opening as by means of a cotter pin 36.Disposed above the pivot pin central portion 30 is a collar 38 forming apart of a locking device. The lever 16 is preferably also provided witha second collar 40 spaced upwardly from the collar 38 and engaged withan upper portion of the housing 26 adjacent side edges of a slot 42formed in the housing for the forward and rearward movemerit of thelever. 5

The aforesaid locking device including the collar 38 preferably alsocomprises firstand second gaskets or bearing members 44,44 best shown inFIGS. 4 and 5. The gaskets 44, 44 are disposed on opposite sides of thecollar 38 and each gasket is provided with a central opening to receivea circular outer end portion of the pivot pin 30. The aforesaid collar38 fixed on the lever 16 is best shown in FIG; 5 as being slightly ovalin plan view. Thus, with the collar in the position shown in FIG. 5, theforward and rearward movement of the lever 16 is unimpeded. When thelever is rotated about its longitudinal axis, however, the collar bindsfrictionally with the gaskets 44, 44 so as to releaseably lock in aselected angular position of the lever 16. Thus, the lever may be movedto the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and then rotated about its axisso as to, be locked in such position. This results in the aforementionedautomatic operation of the control and power means. When it is desiredto resume manual operation of the lever, it is necessary merely torotate the the lever'abo'ut its axis to the FIG. 5 position wherein thelever can be moved freely forwardly and rearwardly as desired.Preferably the gaskets are somewhat resilient and the oval shape of thecollar 38 is so arranged as td provide for the releasable locking actionof the lever on rota tion of the lever about its axis throughapproximately 30 td 45. This may, of course, vary substantially.Further, it preferred to provide a short transverse handle 46 at theupper .end portion of the lever for ease in forward and rearward Thecontrol mechanism 20 comprises a signal devicein? dozer and whichcontrolsthe operation of the signal devicletfi in cooperation with thecontrol member or lever 16..- The-coritrol weight formingpart of theactuator SOisshOWn as-incIud ing a lower portion 58and two similarupstanding side';por-- tiohs 60, 62.

respectively to lower'and raise the blade 14. The aforesaid connection22 mat .comprisea link or armored flexible cable I as shown connectedwith'the leverl6'at a point spaced above Further in accord with thepresently 'preferi'ed-rpracti control housing 64 is provided and hasdisposed ther'e the signal device 48 and the actuator .SOJThejhou'sirig64-. 5 shown as comprising a generally rectangular boxlikelenie'rit mounted'on the bulldozer 10 for pivotal movement about ahorizontal axis and having a detachable front cover'wh'ich' is removedin FIG. 6' for clarity of illustration. Thevalv'es 5 4'and' 56 aremounted in fixed position within the housing to pivot therewith. Theactuator50 is pivotallymounted in the housing for pivotal movementrelative thereto as will be described hereinbelow.

As best illustrated in FIG. 7, a mounting plate 66 is provided forattaching the housing 64 to the bulldozer in a desired position, and inFIG. 1 the housing is shown mounted in a presently preferred position onthe structure supporting the blade 14. The mounting plate 66 carries astub shaft 68 on which the housing 64 is rotatably mounted. Smallbrackets 70, 70 on opposite sides of the mounting 66 connect similarsprings 72, 72 to brackets 74, 74 on the housing 64. Thus, the housing64 is biased to a level or horizontal position on the bulldozer by meansof the springs 72, 72 but is rotatably with respect to the shaft 68against the bias of the springs 72, 72 and at the urging of theaforementioned lever 16 and link or cable 22.

The signal device 48 comprising the valve means 54, 56 is operable bythe actuator 50 as mentioned and, more particularly, by means of a smalllink 76 provided with a slot 78 which extends vertically and receives asmall pin 80. The pin 80 is carried by a connecting member 82 whichextends between valve stems 84, 86 associated respectively with thevalves 54 and 56. Thus, the valve 54 and 56 are operable in unison bymeans of the actuator 50 and, more specifically, by means of the link 78on said actuator.

Fluid connections with the valves 54, 56 include highand low-pressurelines and control passageways or conduits 88 and 90.

A high-pressure line 92 extends to branch lines 94 and 96 supplyinghigh-pressure fluid respectively to the valves 54 and 56. A lowordrain-pressure line 98 extends to branch lines 100 and 102 communicatingrespectively with the valves 54, 56. As best shown in FIG. 10, the valve54 has leftand righthand chamber 104, 106 on opposite sides of a piston108 movable by means of the aforementioned stem 84. Similarly, the valve56 has left and right-hand chambers 110 and 112 on opposite sides of asmall piston or valve land 114 connected with and movable by theaforementioned stem 86. The control passageways or conduits 88 and 90extend to the aforementioned power-operating means 24 for the bulldozerblade 14.

Considering the actuator 50 in greater detail, the shaft 68 is enteredin a small bushing 116 in a T-shaped member 118 of the actuator. Morespecifically, the bushing 116 is supported in a base or body portion 120of the T-shaped member 118 to provide for free angular rotation of theactuator about the shaft 68. Arms 122, 122 of the T-shaped member 118have connected thereto similar relatively stiff springs 124, 124 whichextend downwardly and connect with the portion 58 of the weight element58 at 126, 126. Referring to FIG. 8, it will be observed that angularlyrelated members 128, 128 extend upwardly from the portions 60, 62 of theweight to a rear upper portion of the T-shaped member 118 of theactuator. A slot 130 formed in a center portion of the angular members128, 128 receives a small pin 132 projecting from the rear of theT-shaped member 118. Thus, the actuator comprising the members 58, and62 is unable to rotate relative to the T- shaped member 118 but slightvertical movement thereof relative to the said member is accommodated.The mounting of the actuator in the manner shown contributes to immunityof the control mechanism to vibration encountered in operation of thebulldozer.

As best shown in FIG. 9, a small stop member 134 is provided to engagewith an abutment 136 on a rear portion of the member 60 whereby to limitthe rotation of the actuator about the shaft 68. Preferably, the stopmember is adjustable vertically by means of a slot and screw arrangement138, 140. A similar stop device is provided at the opposite side behindthe member 62. Thus, the travel of the actuating link 76 in one and anopposite direction on rotation of the actuator 50 about the shaft 68 islimited as required to efficiently operate the valves 54, 56.

Referring now to the power means 24 for operating the blade 14, itshould first be noted that the said means may vary widely within thescope of the invention. Preferably, hydraulic means is provided andincludes a fluid motor or blade cylinder 142 having a piston 144, a rod146, and upper and lower chambers 148 and 150. The cylinder 142 iscontrolled in its operation by means of a pump or valve and, in theembodiment shown, a large valve 152 is provided and operates thecylinder 142 under the control of a small servo valve 154. The valve 152includes upper and lower sections 156 and 158 each having upper andlower chambers. An upper chamber 160 in the upper section 156 is definedabove a piston 162 and a lower chamber 164 is defined beneath saidpiston. A highpressure line 166 connects with the upper chamber 160 anda lowor drain-pressure line 168 connects with the lower chamber 164. Aline 170 selectively connects the chambers 160 and 164 with the upperchamber 148 of the cylinder 142 as determined by the position of thepiston 162. Upper and lower chambers 170 and 172 in the lower section158 of the valve 152 are disposed adjacent a piston 174 and areconnected respectively with highand lowor drain-pressure lines 178 and176. A connecting line 180 extends from the lower section of the valve158 to the lower chamber 150 in the blade cylinder 142 as shown.

The small servo valve 154 includes a piston 182, lower and upperchambers 184 and 186, and a piston rod 188. The rod 188 extends upwardlyand connects with the piston 174 which is in turn connected with thepiston 162 by means of a rod cxtension 190. The upper and lower chambers186 and 184 of the servo valve 154 are connected respectively from thevalves 54 and 56.

In operation of the control and power means of the present invention, amachine operator such as 18 may move the lever 16 forwardly andrearwardly in a manual operation as mentioned above. As an'illustrativeexample, forward movement of the lever 16 results in counterclockwisemovement of the housing 64 of the control mechanism 20 whereupon theactuator 50 tends to remain in a level or horizontal position undergravity forces and effectively moves the pistons 108 and 114 in thevalves 54 and 56 in the right-hand direction in FIG. 10. The valves 54and 56 are shown with their pistons 108 and 1 10 in a neutral or hold"position wherein they block the flow of fluid in the control lines 88and 90. Thus, the blade cylinder 142 is held in position and the bladeis stationary as shown. With the rightward movement of the pistons 108and 114, the low-pressure branch line 102 is connected with the controlline and the high-pressure branch line 94 is connected with the controlline 88 through the valve chamber 104. High pressure fluid is thusprovided for in the chamber 186 and drain or low pressure in the chamber184 of the servo valve 154, Ensuing downward movement of the piston 182results in downward movement of the piston 162 and the introduction ofhigh-pressure fluid from the line 166 to the chamber 160, the line 170and thence the cylinder chamber 148. Downward movement of the piston 174results in a connection of the cylinder chamber through the line 180with the chamber in turn connected to drain or low pressure at 176.Thus, the cylinder piston 144 moves downwardly whereby to move the blade14 downwardly as desired. When the front-to-rear attitude of thebulldozer has changed as a result of the downward movement of the bladeto such an extent that the actuating member 76 returns the pistons 108and 114 to the position shown in FIG. 10, the power means 24 resumes ahold" condition.

In automatic operation, the lever 16 may be moved forwardly and lockedin the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. This results in counterclockwisepivotal movement of the housing 64 as above and in a sequence ofoperation of the valves 54. 56, the servo valve 154, the main valve 152and the blade cylinder 142 lowering the blade 14. When the bulldozer hasinclined forwardly to again center the actuating member 76, the controland power means will resume a hold condition. Any deviation from thedesired front-to-rear attitude of the bulldozer and the desired gradewill, however, result in an automatic correction introduced by thecontrol and power means. Thus, if the bulldozer should tilt downwardlyfrom the desired front-to-rear attitude, operation .in a reverse sensefrom that described above will result and the blade will be raisedslightly to maintain the desired attitude and grade. Operation of thecontrol and power means is much more rapid than is attainable undermanual operation and the bulldozer may therefore be operated at a higherspeed of linear movement.

' The drawings show a preferred embodiment of the invention and suchembodiment has been described, but it will be understood that changesmay be made from the construction disclosed and thatthedrawingsand'description are not to be construed as defining or limiting thescope of the invention, the claims forming a part "of i thisspecification being relied on for that purpose. i

lclaim: V

1. In combination with a vehicle having a movable tool member mountedthereon and power means carried by said vehicle for moving said toolmember relative to said vehicle, a control apparatus comprising acontrol housing mounted on said vehicle for angular movement about ahorizontal axis and relative to said vehicle, signal means mounted infixed position in said control housing to move therewith for controllingmovement of said power means, means operably connecting said signalmeans to said power means, a gravity-operated actuator disposed in saidcontrol housingzand responsive to the front-to-rear attitude of saidvehicle for operating said signal means, a manually operable controllever, means supporting said control lever for angular movement about ahorizontal axis relative to said vehicle, means operably connecting saidhousing to said control lever for angular movement in response toangular movement of said lever, and locking means associated with saidlever for retaining said lever and said housing in selected fixedangular position relative to said vehicle in response to rotation ofsaid lever in one direction about its longitudinal axis and forreleasing said housing for angular movement with said lever in responseto rotation of said lever in an opposite direction about itslongitudinal axis.

.2. The combination in a vehicle as set forth in claim 1 includinglocking means for releasably retaining said control means in selectedpositions to place said signal means, said power means and said toolmember under the sole control of said actuator.

3. 'In combination with a bulldozer or the like having an earthmovingblade and hydraulically operated power means for raising and loweringthe blade, a control apparatus comprising a control housing, meansfor'mounting, said control housing on said bulldozer for pivotalmovement about a horizontal axis and relative thereto, fluid controlvalve means mounted in fixed position insaid'housing, fluid passagewaymeans for connecting said valve means to said power means, a gravityoperated actuator disposed in said housing and responsive to thefront-to-rear attitude of said bulldozer for operating said valve meansto provide hydraulic signals in said passageway means for movement ofsaid power means in one and the opposite direction to raise and lowersaid blade and for fixed positioning ofsaid power means to retain saidblade in fixed position, a manually operable control lever operablyconnected to said control housing for pivoting said housing about saidaxis, and locking means associated with said lever for releasablyretaining said leverand said control housing in comprises a weightmounted in said control housing for pivotal movement about said controlhousing axis and relative to said control housing and constructed so asto continuously seek a sin ular angular position under the influence ofgravity. 6. At t e comblnation as set forth in claim 5 wherein saidactuator includes spring means for suspending said weight for pivotalmovement about saidcontrol housing axis.

7. The combination as defined in claim} wherein said bulldozer includesa supporting structure mounted thereon for pivotal movement about agenerally horizontal axis, said blade is carried by said supportingstructure, and said control housing is mounted on said supportingstructure.

8. ln-combination with a bulldozer or the like having an earthmovingblade and hydraulically operable power means for raising and loweringsaid blade, a control apparatus comprising a control housing, means formounting said control housing on said bulldozer for pivotal movementabout a horizontal axis and relative thereto, signal means includingfirst and second valves mounted in fixed position in said housing atopposite sides of said axis and a member connecting said first andsecond valves for operation in unison, fluid passageway means forconnecting said first and second valves to said power means, agravitypperated actuator disposed in said housing and operably connectedto said signal means, said actuator being responsive to thefront-to-rear attitude of said bulldozer for operating said valves inunison to provide hydraulic signals in said passageway means formovement of said power means in one and the opposite direction to raise1 and lower said blade and for positioning said power means to retainsaid blade in fixed position, manually operable control means operablyconnected to said control housing for pivoting said housing about saidaxis, said control means including locking means for releasablyretaining said control means and said control housing in selectedposition relative to said bull dozer to place said signal means, saidpower means and said earthmoving blade under the sole control of saidactuator.

P0405) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No-3,554,292 .Dated January 12, 1971 Inventor) William L. Lewis It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

' Col. 1, line 8, "lower" should read -lowe ring-;

H line 46', "20". should read --l0; line 74, "mat" should read --may-.

Col. 3,. line 23, "valve" should read --valves--.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of April 1971.

(S AL) Attest;

EDWARDM-ELETQHERJR, WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. Attest1ng OfflcerCommissioner of Patents

1. In combination with a vehicle having a movable tool member mounted thereon and power means carried by said vehicle for moving said tool member relative to said vehicle, a control apparatus comprising a control housing mounted on said vehicle for angular movement about a horizontal axis and relative to said vehicle, signal means mounted in fixed position in said control housing to move therewith for controlling movement of said power means, means operably connecting said signal means to said power means, a gravity-operated actuator disposed in said control housing and responsive to the front-to-rear attitude of said vehicle for operating said signal means, a manually operable control lever, means supporting said control lever for angular movement about a horizontal axis relative to said vehicle, means operably connecting said housing to said control lever for angular movement in response to angular movement of said lever, and locking means associated with said lever for retaining said lever and said housing in selected fixed angular position relative to said vehicle in response to rotation of said lever in one direction about its longitudinal axis and for releasing said housing for angular movement with said lever in response to rotation of said lever in an opposite direction about its longitudinal axis.
 2. The combination in a vehicle as set forth in claim 1 including locking means for releasably retaining said control means in selected positions to place said signal means, said power means and said tool member under the sole control of said actuator.
 3. In combination with a bulldozer or the like having an earthmoving blade and hydraulically operated power means for raising and lowering the blade, a control apparatus comprising a control housing, means for mounting said control housing on said bulldozer for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and relative thereto, fluid control valve means mounted in fixed position in said housing, fluid passageway means for connecting said valve means to said power means, a gravity operated actuator disposed in said housing and responsive to the front-to-rear attitude of said bulldozer for operating said valve means to provide hydraulic signals in said passageway means for movement of said power means in one and the opposite direction to raise and lower said blade and for fixed positioning of said power means to retain said blade in fixed position, a manually operable control lever operably connected to said control housing for pivoting said housing about said axis, and locking means associated with said lever for releasably retaining said lever and said control housing in selected positions relative to said bulldozer in response to rotation of said lever in one and the opposite direction about its longitudinal axis.
 4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3 including scale means associated with said lever to indicate positions of said lever corresponding to desired front-to-rear attitudes of said bulldozer.
 5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said actuator comprises a weight mounted in said control housing for pivotal movement about said control housing axis and relative to said control housing and constructed so as to continuously seek a singular angular position under the influence of gravity.
 6. At the combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said actuator includes spring means for suspending said weight for pivotal movement about said control housing axis.
 7. The combination as defined in claim 3 wherein said bulldozer includes a supporting structure mounted thereon for pivotal movement about a generally horizontal axis, said blade is carried by said supporting structure, and said control housing is mounted on said supporting structure.
 8. In combination with a bulldozer or the like having an earthmoving blade and hydraulically operable power means for raising and lowering said blade, a control apparatus comprising a control housing, means for mounting said control housing on said bulldozer for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and relative thereto, signal means including first and second valves mounted in fixed position in said housing at opposite sides of said axis and a member connecting said first and second valves for operation in unison, fluid passageway means for connecting said first and second valves to said power means, a gravity-operated actuator disposed in said housing and operably connected to said signal means, said actuator being responsive to the front-to-rear attitude of said bulldozer for operating said valves in unison to provide hydraulic signals in said passageway means for movement of said power means in one and the opposite direction to raise and lower said blade and for positioning said power means to retain said blade in fixed position, manually operable control means operably connected to said control housing for pivoting said housing about said axis, said control means including locking means for releasably retaining said control means and said control housing in selected position relative to said bulldozer to place said signal means, said power means and said earthmoving blade under the sole control of said actuator. 